10 Warships From ASEAN Countries Sail Into Penang

GEORGE TOWN, Aug 15 (Bernama) -- A total of 10 warships from ASEAN countries arrived at the Swettenham Pier Cruise Terminal (SPCT) here today to attend events in conjunction with Malaysia's ASEAN Chairmanship 2025.

Seven of the warships are from ASEAN countries, and three are from the Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN), bringing about 1,600 naval personnel in total.

A Bernama survey found that three RMN warships - KD Kedah, measuring 91 metres (m) in length; KD Lekiu (106.5m); and KD Lekir (98m) - arrived ahead of the other vessels at the SPCT.

They were followed closely by RSS Vigour (from Singapore); UMS King Sin Phyu Shin (Myanmar); BRP Antonio Luna (the Philippines); KRI Bung Tomo (Indonesia); VPNS Quang Trang (Vietnam); HTMS Krabi (Thailand); and KPD Darulaman (Brunei).

The warships arrived at the SPCT between 9.15 am and 1.45 pm, and were welcomed with military traditions accompanied by a band performance and an RMN delegation.

A survey of the Padang Kota area also found that many people seized the opportunity to view the warships docked at the SPCT, including recording their arrival.

Visitors may also tour the docked warships on Sunday (Aug 17) and see for themselves the capabilities and technologies used by these regional navy vessels. 

Penang is set to take centre stage in regional maritime defence as the RMN hosts three key ASEAN naval events from Aug 15-22 under Malaysia's ASEAN Chairmanship 2025.

The events are the 19th ASEAN Navy Chiefs’ Meeting (ANCM), the Third ASEAN Multilateral Naval Exercise (AMNEX) and the ASEAN Fleet Review (AFR), with activities across George Town and Batu Ferringhi.

Bernama had previously reported ANCM Working Committee deputy chairman Rear Admiral Datuk Mohd Fadzli Kamal Mohd Mohaldin as saying that the programme would begin today with the arrival of warships from ASEAN countries at the SPCT.

This will be followed by the AMNEX Opening Ceremony and its third ‘Port Phase’ on Aug 16, which allows naval officers to finalise plans for the joint sea exercises.

The RMN will also host the Naval Engineering Conference (NEC), a scientific forum uniting regional naval engineers to discuss innovations under the theme ‘Innovation and Technology Towards Improving Ship Survivability at Sea’.

A highlight open to the public is the ASEAN Navies’ City Parade (ANCP), which is an RMN initiative to promote naval military traditions, on Aug 17 at Esplanade in Padang Kota Lama, held alongside Penang’s Hari Buletin 4.0 event. 

The parade commemorates the historic May 1990 International Royal Fleet Review, which saw 59 warships and over 11,000 naval personnel visit Penang.

-- BERNAMA